Duke, along with Kentucky and Kansas, placed three players on the top 50 watch list. The ACC had seven players on the list as the Blue Devil trio was joined by James Michael McAdoo (North Carolina), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), C.J. Fair (Syracuse) and Joe Harris (Virginia).

Hood has been terrific for the Blue Devils in the early season, averaging 21.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in field goal percentage (.723), three-point percentage (.727) and free throw percentage (.846). The Meridian, Miss., native is coming off a 30-point effort in Duke's 83-74 win over East Carolina and has now scored 20-or-more points in three of Duke's five contests.

Parker had garnered ACC Rookie of the Week honors in each of the first two weeks and was also the league's Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 18. He has scored 20-or-more points in all five games and leads the team in scoring (22.4 ppg.), rebounds (8.8), blocks (10) and steals (6). Parker is shooting 55.6 percent from the field, including an ACC-best 65.0 percent from three-point range.

Sulaimon is averaging 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game over the first five contests. He came off the bench to score a season-high 20 points in the opener against Davidson.

Duke has had a Naismith Trophy recipient six times in school history: Johnny Dawkins in 1986, Christian Laettner in 1992, Elton Brand in 1999, Shane Battier in 2001, Jason Williams in 2002 and J.J. Redick in 2006.